1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aquatic exercise rowing machine, and more particularly, to such a machine that is used in a body of water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several designs for exercise machines have been designed in the past. None of them, however, includes a floating rowing machine that utilizes paddle wheels to propel itself by the user.
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,349 issued to the inventor herein for a rowing locomotion device issued in 1996. Ferez's prior patented apparatus includes a similar propulsion mechanism for rowing. However, it differs from the present invention because it cannot be used in a body of water since it does not float. The mechanism is also not suitable for propelling paddle wheels unless the novel improvements claimed herein are incorporated. A user also steers the floating machine with his/her hands with a steering mechanism.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.